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Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?

Ron Hogan


He blends both the natural athleticism of the martial artists and the abilities of the actor in one bald-headedly awesome package

Every so often, a new action hero emerges. A hero for a new generation; a role model, even. Er, but is Jason Statham really a man you'd want to look up to? One word: YES.

Published on Jul 20, 2007
There is a checkered history when it comes to action films. The traditional mould for stars of what I like to call ‘karate guy’ films is to take a martial artist of some renown, stick him in front of a camera with actors and stuntmen, string together some sort of marginal plot (usually taking revenge on someone or protecting someone from revenge), and have him kick and punch his way through 90 minutes of fight scenes and a poorly-done romantic subplot.

There are literally hundreds of these guys and girls who have followed in the footsteps of kickboxing champion/actor/bearded wonder Chuck Norris: Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Don ‘the Dragon’ Wilson, Billy Blanks, Cynthia Rothrock, Mark Dacascos and various others have turned marital arts prowess into movie success and acting careers.

Others have taken up the mantle of Bruce Lee, starting out as actors or stuntmen before becoming martial artists: Jackie Chan, Patrick Swayze, Michelle Yeoh, Michael Dudikoff, Sasha Mitchell, Stephen Chow, Tony Jaa, Steven Seagal, and Chow Yun Fat are just a few of the many actors (mostly in Hong Kong) who have taken up the study of martial arts, or taken their own interest in martial arts into their film careers. Of course, traditional actors with no martial arts background (Charlie’s Angels) do their own fu, too, usually with the assistance of an army of stuntmen.

Enter Jason Statham. A male model and street-hustler turned actor, Statham has pretty much ripped the banner of action movie star from the hands of the martial arts practitioners and stuck it firmly into the hands of the acting camp. Not only is Statham an appealing actor and a good film-fighter, he’s cool enough to impress the guys and good-looking enough to impress the girls. He does his own stunts AND his own acting scenes, and doesn’t suck at either without looking like he’s trying too hard.

In the Western world, that’s practically impossible to find. Statham holds his own against the best of the East; in the West, there is no one quite like him in the movie industry right now. He can handle dialogue, has a wicked sense of comic timing, does his own stunt-driving (just like Steve McQueen, speaking of cool guys who kick ass), is a former world-class athlete, and makes even the most ludicrous movie into something watchable.

Take, for example, Crank. Insane premise, over-the-top action scenes, and a horrendously-named lead character. But it works and works well because Statham has just enough tongue in cheek to sell the role, and the charisma to make us forget just how implausible the whole scenario is and to just sit back and enjoy the kung-fu kicks and rapid-fire quips. Same with The Transporter and Transporter 2. These are all top-notch action/martial arts films.

Making things easier for Statham is his choice of scripts. Louis Leterrier, Cory Yuen, Luc Besson, pre-Madonna Guy Richie, John Carpenter, even James Wong… these aren’t slouches, by any means. It doesn’t take a genius to make a bad action picture, but when action/martial arts goes bad, it goes really bad.

Statham is not only a great character actor (and usually the best part about any movie he’s in), he’s also a face that sells tickets. He blends both the natural athleticism of the martial artists and the abilities of the actor in one bald-headedly awesome package. Gun-fu, martial arts, or car-fu, Jason Statham has become the action movie star of the 2000s and a karate guy without peer.

Just be on the look-out for Tony Jaa.

 
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jason statham crank transporter karate guy action hero

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Users Comments

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By sarahofthedead 1 July 20, 2007 10:48:06 AM

Tony Jaa is awesome. The only Statham film I've seen thus far is Crank, but that was brilliant. I even bought the DVD on the day of release; though, granted, it was Boxing Day and I had some cash to spare. ;) I'm looking forward to In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, too...

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By twosheds 1 July 20, 2007 11:30:07 AM

A great character actor? Has your copy of Microsoft Word autocorrected 'crap actor' by chance? Statham is pure wood, available flat-packed from Ikea.

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By Robmac 1 July 20, 2007 11:35:10 AM

Jason Statham is the 00's Chuck Norris .. but of course could never beat Norris in a fight.. as any fan of Norris-facts would know. Also kudos to the guy for going out with Kelly Brooke for a while but really bad luck to him that she dumped him for other C-lister Billy Zane..hmm, not much of an upgrade for Ms Brooke if you ask me...

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By Robmac 1 July 20, 2007 11:37:31 AM

Additonally - Tony Jaa.. if anyone hasn't seen his films.. get them NOW! - Ong Bak and Warrior King are two of the best martial arts film in the past 20 years

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By stuxmusic 1 July 20, 2007 12:42:57 PM

Tony Jaa = Insanely brilliant. Jason Statham though, is brilliant. Crank and Transporter 2 are probably my favorite action movies, because they are so over the top.

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By Matt 1 July 20, 2007 12:52:18 PM

I can't help but feel bad for Guy Richie, what with being slighted here and all. Sure, no one has seen Swept Away, but Snath wasn't made 'pre-Madonna'. Also, I'm one of only nine people known to think the film Revolver was "quite good". Unless of course you meant prima donna, in which case, never mind.

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By sitar_tattoo 1 July 20, 2007 05:41:35 PM

Matt, Revolver can only be matched by few other films in its awfulness: Inland Empire, X, and the Sonic The Hedgehog movie. Awful awful awful. Oh yeah, Statham kicks ass. I don't think he's an amazing actor, but he pulls it off better than, say, a Tony Jaa would. I know it's not the best acting in the world, but Statham's gift of not taking himself seriously is a plus. That and keeping a straight face for lines like "Jack's been infected with a deadly virus".

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By TVdust 1 July 21, 2007 02:20:18 AM

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Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By TVdust 1 July 21, 2007 02:21:48 AM

Can I just put my hat in the 'I liked Revolver too' camp? I really rate Statham - Ron's spot on; he almost made Mean Machine watchable... Almost.

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By RonHogan 1 July 21, 2007 11:44:21 PM

No, I love his work in Snatch and Lock Stock, but those aren't exactly action films. As for his wooden status, Martin... Chuck Norris isn't known for his emoting. Neither is Tony Jaa or Bruce Lee. He's good as action movies go, and smirky/funny enough to be in an ensemble.

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By mandrake 1 July 28, 2007 04:49:15 PM

Tony Jaa or Jason? Tony is amazing to watch onscreen but Jason appeals to the average guy who just wants to kick the guy's ass sitting next to you in a pub...it seems more feasable than being Tony Jaa ....

Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By toneee 1 July 30, 2007 04:19:55 PM

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Re: Jason Statham: an action hero for our time?
Posted By toneee 1 July 30, 2007 04:23:38 PM

Sorry, Ron, I have to agree with Martin on this one. Statham's not much of an actor. He is passable though, and the Transporter films are ace. However, his accent in those films is terrible. It's even worse in 'The One'.
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Jason Statham Jason Statham: cool as. (Except in Dungeon Siege, possibly.)
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